Moscow, SANA – Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the non-participation of the armed opposition groups in the latest meeting of Astana talks shows the desire of some countries to hinder solution of the crisis in Syria.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday that Lavrov expressed in a phone call with his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault, satisfaction over the progress in Astana talks, stressing that “non-participation of the armed opposition groups in the latest meeting only shows that some countries are still trying to prevent the peaceful settlement under the resolution 2254 of the UN Security Council.”